Hi All

SpaceDev have been looking into an orbital version of their proposed rocket plane. In the print edition of "Popular Science", about Bigelow's Space Hotel, there's a configuration with the SpaceDev space-plane (modelled after NASA's X34) and 3 mega-pound hybrid boosters. They've denied it's a Bigelow Prize design because they're skeptical it can be done for less than the prize's $50 million. Oh well...

I think such a design is pretty much an incremental move beyond SS1 for SpaceDev. I'd like to see them try using a big hybrid as a satellite launcher first to see how it performs across the whole launch-ascent sequence, but I'm sure they know what they're doing. PopSci touts it as a strong contender for the OV needed to service Bigelow's Space Hotel.

Any comments?

Adam